March 2007

When we read that El Oriental de Cuba had been firebombed in July 2005, we feared the worst. Could this popular Boston eatery have any hope of rebuilding?

El Oriental has come back better than ever with a newly remodeled restaurant that is bigger and fancier than the original.

However, El Oriental has resisted the temptation of "going Hollywood" and remains true to its simple roots – owner Nobel Garcia and his staff still serve the best Cuban sandwich in Boston and a whole lot more.

The restaurant reopened in the fall of 2006 and judging by the crowd on a recent Saturday night, has regained it's loyal following. The new El Oriental features tile floors, beautiful wooden table tops, and a rich red wainscoting that compliments the pale green color of the walls. What it has lost in basic "hole-in-the-wall" charm El Oriental has gained in a modern yet warm and inviting new look.

Police have never arrested anyone in the firebombing, although witnesses that night saw a lone arsonist fleeing the scene of the crime. With no apparent motive and few leads, the case has gone cold. With the help of the local business community, Garcia has brought the restaurant back and the food is still great.

El Oriental has always covered the Cuban food spectrum, offering dishes like arroz con gandules or rice with pigeon peas, a dish that is more familiar to Puerto Ricans than Cubans. At El Oriental the dish is flecked with bits of smoked ham and chorizo with just the right taste of green pepper, onion, and garlic.

El Oriental de Cuba makes a very picante Arroz con Calamares (rice with squid). The extra kick gives the squid a nice flavor. The Chicharron de Pollo is a generous serving of lightly breaded chicken chunks. The Rabo Guisado (oxtail), a popular dish in Spanish restaurants, is well prepared here.

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A new logo represents a new beginning for this Jamaica Plain classic.

We're suckers for novels that are set in Cuba during the "golden years." Havana in the 1950s was an exciting time, and in her new book, "Dancing to Almendra," Mayra Montero plunges us into Havana during the final weeks of Batista. The story begins with two deaths: the murder of mafia chieftain Umberto Anastasia and a hippopotamus at the Havana Zoo. A young entertainment reporter, Joaquín Porrata, gets assigned to the big story – the killing of the hippo.

Porrata, who is definitely looking to move up in the journalism world, is a little under whelmed by his assignment – until a zoo employee tells him about a strange link between the two killings.

The paper he works for refuses to publish his story, and Porrata soon finds himself working for a rival newspaper. What follows is a journey of discovery, from Havana to upstate New York and back again. Along the way, Porrata befriends a zoo keeper with a strange obsession for George Raft, Yolanda, a one-armed circus performer; and several shady mafia characters.

What is unique about this book is the counter story: Yolanda tells her own story in frequent interludes. On one side – the present – we have the plot driven and action packed narrative of Porrata. On the other, we have the slow meandering stream of Yolanda's life story, mostly remembrances of her past. Reading this book involves shifting from plainly written prose to stream-of-conscious poetry, but Montero manages to pull it off with aplomb.

The original Spanish text has been lovingly translated by Edith Grossman. If you speak and read Spanish, you might want to tackle the original. However, for English readers this novel is an engaging read. Yes, you won't want to put it down.

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The home they left behind: the Castillo and Musibay house in Cayo la Rosa as it looks today. Raúl and Jorge's own stories are similar to those described in this film.

Through six main characters, Lejos de la Isla covers the six major events of the mass exodus from Castro's "prison colony." The personal accounts of these six brave souls make the events themselves come alive: Operation Pedro Pan, the freedom flights, the Mariel boatlift, the rafter crisis, and the Cuban visa lottery.

One of the central characters, Lauradis Salas, actually travels back to Cuba in 2002 to visit the family and friends she left behind through the Cuban Visa Lottery. It is interesting to hear the perspectives of the different groups. For example, those who got out early have a much different perspective than those who had to struggle through years of Communist control.

Lejos de la Isla premiered last year and is the work of a Cuban-American L.E. Salas. A New Jersey native, Salas worked with two professors at the University of Central Florida to make his documentary film a reality. Luis Martínez-Fernández, the director of the school's Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Program, and Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés, a professor in the English Department helped Salas with the film.

Salas' own father fled Cuba when he was only 16, taking one of the most treacherous routes imaginable – he braved the shark-infested waters of Guantanamo Bay as he swam to freedom at the U.S. base there.

The film is now available on DVD.

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Boston's El Oriental de Cuba

They are back and they are better than ever!

Cuban author immerses readers in
the underbelly of 1950's Havana

"Lejos de la Isla" captures the essence of the Cuban diaspora

Our newest Miami Cuban cookbook, "Three Guys From Miami Celebrate Cuban" has been selling briskly across the country. Many stores have had a hard time keeping it on the shelves. Please ASK for a copy of the book with the best Miami Cuban recipes!

"Celebrate Cuban is a collectible cookbook, not only because of the amazing pictures tempting you at every turn of the page, but because of the writing style. I adore the way this book is written. The personality shines throughout and each recipe has comments from Glenn, Raúl and Jorge. There are also conversations between the three cooks and this introduces you to the cultural significance of each dish or gives you insight into why an ingredient is so popular." Rebecca Johnson, The Rebecca Review.

"Wonderfully illustrated throughout with full color photography of finished dishes, "Three Guys From Miami Celebrate Cuban" is a particularly "user friendly" and enthusiastically recommended addition to any kitchen cook's ethnic cuisine oriented cookbook collection." Mary Cowper, Midwest Book Review.

"No Cuban party would be complete without some sort of grilled meat - preferably pork - says Glenn Lindgren, who along with his brothers-in-law Raul Musibay and Jorge Castillo are authors of two Miami Cuban cookbooks - Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban and the latest Three Guys from Miami Celebrate Cuban. Both are $29.95. The three also have a popular Web site with recipes, stories and all things Cuban at icuban.com." Kathy Stephenson, The Salt Lake Tribune